MESSAGE
| DATE | 2009-03-06 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] The Black Hole which is the MTA
|
Pols Rally Against Tolls
BY LINDA J. WILSON
(L. to r.): City Comptroller William Thompson, City Councilmember David
Weprin, Assemblymember Rory Lancman and Councilmember John Liu gathered
at the foot of the Queensboro Bridge to voice their opposition to
proposed tolls on East and Harlem River bridges.
Assemblymembers Rory I. Lancman, City Councilmembers John C. Liu and
David Weprin and City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. on Monday,
March 2 met at the foot of the Queensboro Bridge to express their strong
opposition to any tolls on the East and Harlem River bridges. Tolls
would have a disproportionate impact on many New Yorkers, creating an
unwieldy hardship on working families and small businesses, they
maintained.
Lancman, Liu and Thompson recently joined a coalition expressing unified
opposition to tolls that also includes Assemblymembers Jeffrion L.
Aubry; Michael Benjamin; Nelson L. Castro; Jeffrey Dinowitz; Aurelia
Greene; Carl E. Heastie; Hakeem Jeffries; Alan Maisel; José R. Peralta;
Adam Clayton Powell IV; Phil Ramos; Jose Rivera; Peter M. Rivera, and
Helene E. Weinstein; City Councilmember Robert Jackson, and
Councilmember-elect Julissa Ferreras
"Harlem and East River tolls would burden many hard-working people who
live in boroughs other than Manhattan and would drastically hurt small
businesses, many of which already are struggling in this economy,"
Thompson said. "Further, the bridge tolls include massive start-up and
administrative costs and would drain an estimated $400 million from the
$1 billion collected to construct and administer a toll collection
system."
"The last thing we need to do right now is impose a
thousand-dollar-a-year tax on working New Yorkers driving into
Manhattan, especially when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority
(MTA) is offering no new mass transit options so these commuters could
actually use the system they're being taxed to fund," Lancman said.
"The MTA's Harlem and East River toll plan would win approval by Robert
Moses the Master Builder himself, with their idea to seal off Manhattan
Island and make it only affordable to the wealthy," Peralta said. "To
make matters worse, the MTA seems to employ accountants that practice
Bernie Madoff-like accounting--it just doesn't add up--and New Yorkers
shouldn't have to suffer or afford any more insults."
Liu, chair of the council Transportation Committee, said: "Bailing out
the MTA
Committee, said: "Bailing out the MTA simply does not require the
imposition of these bridge tolls. The payroll tax is more than
sufficient to plug the MTA's operating deficit and fund much of the next
capital plan, according to the Ravitch Commission. The bridge tolls are
in the mix only at the insistence of Manhattan-based corporations in
exchange for their buy-in on the payroll tax. According to the Ravitch
Commission, revenues from bridge tolls would be used only to improve bus
service throughout the city and not be used to plug the MTA operating
deficit. These dreadful and divisive tolls are totally unnecessary and
should not be imposed."
"In these tough economic times, too many New Yorkers already find it
hard to make ends meet. Tolling those bridges will just present yet
another expense. This is just not acceptable," Ferreras added.
The tolls are one of a number of ideas floated by a commission chaired
by Richard Ravitch to address a $1.2 billion budget gap faced by the
MTA. The authority contends it will be forced to raise fares without a
significant infusion of funding. The Ravitch Commission's proposal to
impose $5 tolls was estimated to yield $800 million in revenue annually
after costs were subtracted. Last week, however, a more limited, $2 toll
plan that reportedly would generate $450 million in yearly revenue was
proposed.
Coalition members stressed that any tolls along the East and Harlem
River bridges would not fairly spread the fiscal burden on New Yorkers.
Instead, coalition members pointed to other alternatives to tolls to
generate revenues while helping to stave off subway and bus fare hikes
and service cuts. Thompson has proposed a weight-based registration fee
on private and commercial vehicles. That plan would generate more than
$1 billion in annual regional revenue for the MTA while promoting energy
independence and easing parking shortages in New York City
neighborhoods.
Thompson's plan calls for an additional, weight-based transit-dedicated
assessment of $100 for vehicles weighing 2,300 pounds or less, plus $.09
for every pound of curb weight over 2,300. Under such a fee structure, a
Toyota Yaris, a light and fuel-efficient vehicle with a curb weight of
2,293 pounds, would cost an additional $100 to register, while a Lincoln
Navigator, one of the heaviest and least fuel-efficient vehicles with a
curb weight of 5,963 pounds, would cost an additional $430 to register.
Thompson said the fee could be phased in over time, allowing residents
to take the fee into account when making auto purchasing decisions. He
noted that New Yorkers who own cars generally have higher incomes;
therefore, the fee structure would impact New Yorkers with lower incomes
to a lesser degree than seeking to raise revenues by raising transit
fares.
--
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